A historian has been thwarted in his attempts to prove a body buried under a Sussex church is King Harold.

A church court ruled yesterday that the bones in Bosham, near Chichester, should not be disturbed.

Harold II is reportedly the only monarch since Edward the Confessor whose final resting place is unknown.

According to folklore, the most likely spot is at Waltham Abbey in Essex. However, John Pollock is convinced the tomb in West Sussex belongs to the Saxon king killed at the Battle of Hastings.

He wanted DNA tests carried out on the headless body at Holy Trinity Church and compared with three people who claim to be descendants of the king.

A match would go a long way to proving the remains as Harold's.

Yesterday the Chancellor of Chichester Diocese, the Worshipful Mark Hill, refused the request in a lengthy written judgment after a Consistory Court hearing at Bosham on November 24.

The court heard even experts who backed the exhumation thought it "very unlikely" the body was the long-lost king's.

The three people who claimed to be Harold's descendants all had different DNA and any tests on the bones would be pointless without an accurate comparison, the court heard.

The Council for the Care of Churches also objected to the analysis because it would have destroyed part of the remains.

In the written decision, Mr Hill said there were "complex scientific, historic and archaeological issues".

He said the permanent burial of a body had entrusted that person to God for resurrection and exhumation should only take place for a "good reason" or on "special and exceptional grounds".

In his judgement, Mr Hill did not rule out future archaeological examination and tidying of the burial site.

The grave was found by workmen in 1954 who discovered a stone sarcophagus and a body with its head and part of a leg missing.

While most legends record Harold having been slain with an arrow through the eye, others describe him being beheaded and dismembered.

The Bayeux Tapestry also depicts Harold visiting Bosham in 1064, two years before his battle against William the Conqueror.

DNA profiling was not available in the Fifties and the tomb was covered over and forgotten until Mr Pollock began researching church records, He was disappointed with the decision but said he remained "absolutely convinced" the body is that of Harold.

He said: "There are a lot of facts we could check without even opening the tomb.

"For example, we know King Canute's daughter was buried in the next tomb in 1022. We could date the mortar to see if it matches.

"But I sincerely hoped the matter would be resolved. I had a tip-off that Harold's head could have been sent to Waltham and I don't consider that unreasonable.

"It certainly would have been preserved and kept somewhere."